Another Close One - Yankees 6, Toronto 4

This was one of those games that the Despiser described so well the other day - Yankees against a bad team, Yankees with three times the payroll, and it ends up being a very close one. The Sox showed the Yankees how to play bad teams last night, shutting out KC behind Kason Gabbard.

Igawa had another awful outing, and is starting to give Pavano a run for his money as worst Yankee pitcher signing of the decade.

And I wonder how long Andy Phillips will stay hot. I wouldn't bet on it lasting too long. But as long as he fades in September, when it counts the most, I've got no complaints.

If you're rooting for a Yankee-free October, you've gotta hope Phillips plays well through the trading deadline, so the Yanks don't get a guy like Teixera to boost their chances. Then again, to get Teixera, they'll have to part with some great young arms. It's unclear what the better outcome is here. But I'd be shocked if Phillips keeps hitting like this the rest of the year.

Igawa Stinks Up Joint (What Else Is New?), Junkees Win Anyway 7-6

Wow, hard to believe Igawa's ERA is ONLY 7.14, after giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings. Wait a minute, I thought he got straightened out in AAA.... Hard to believe it's only 7.14 because that means he gives up 7 earned runs every 9 innings. I don't remember any scoreless innings. Where did those go?

So the Yankees jump out to a 5-2 lead, and of course, Igawa can't hold it. Shemp's homer in the eighth puts them ahead, and Mariano comes in for a SHAKY ninth, allows a run but nails his eleventh save after a pretty questionable strike three call, but the calls have gone both ways this year, so I can't complain too much. Nevertheless, he got a little lucky. If Cuddyer walks you have Morneau up with a couple runners on, and I don't think Mariano holds on. He was far from dominating today, and we haven't seen the dominant Mariano in quite some time. So that's a good sign.

Offensively Old York did well against lousy pitching, getting 13 hits. The only highlight was Ringo's 0-5. Ringo's July average is .176, so we'll keep an eye on that.

So that's it. Otherwise, Detroit won, so Old York gains nothing in the wild card race, and Anaheim comes into town, and they always give the Yankees fits. Should be a fun weekend.

The Yankee Way At Work

Igawa's reward for saving Torre's behind? A trip to single-A Tampa. At least he hasn't been called a "fat pussy toad" yet.